Billboards around Chico notify nonbelievers they are not alone

Such is the message of a dozen billboards that were plastered around Chico in the last week, marking the formal launch of the Butte County Coalition of Reason.

The words "Don't believe in God? Join the club." are written over an image of a sunrise, and aim to notify secular thinkers they are not alone, said coordinator George Gold.

"One of the things people get by participating in organized religion is a sense of community," Gold said. "We want people to know they have a place to go. It's OK to be an atheist, it's OK to be an agnostic. It's OK to be a freethinker."

The billboards are part of a national program, with 58 similar campaigns in 33 states. The national United Coalition of Reason provided the $3,780 in funding for the Chico ads.

Locations include spots on The Esplanade, the Skyway and Highway 99. They went up Wednesday and will stay for one month, Gold said.

The timing of the billboards' release, just before Christmas, is a "pleasant coincidence," Gold said. The coalition composed of Atheists of Butte County, the Chico Skeptics and the Chico State Secular Student Alliance has been in the works for months.

Bryan Ervin, president of the Secular Student Alliance, said he hopes the billboards do not offend, because that's not the intention.

"We are not trying to antagonize anybody," he said. "We want people to know there are other people who don't believe in certain things but are still good people."

Ervin grew up in a nondenominational quasi-Christian family, and as he grew older his natural curiosity drove him further from religion, he said. It was not until 2005 that he identified as an agnostic-atheist and sought out others online.

When he moved to Chico, he finally found a group with which to share those ideas in person.

"It was great," Ervin said. "Getting with people and talking about anything is in general a very human quality."

Gold, a Magalia resident who defines himself as a Jewish atheist, said non-theists are just like their family, friends and co-workers, except they don't believe in a supreme being.

His group, Atheists of Butte County, meets monthly for discussion, fellowship and community service, such as an adopt-a-highway project they soon will be undertaking.

Pastor Ted Sandberg of First Baptist Church of Chico had not yet seen the billboards but said everyone is entitled to their opinion. The timing near Christmas could certainly have an impact.

"Maybe they did people's faith a favor because it makes us think about what we really do believe," he said.

Bruce Grelle, professor in Chico State's Department of Comparative Religion and Humanities, said the billboards reflect a rapidly growing population of nonbelievers.

A Pew Research Study in October reported one in five adults have no religious affiliation. Nationwide, 13 million people — 6 percent of the population — are self-described atheists and agnostics, and 33 million state they have no particular religious affiliation.

People may not be aware such a large portion of the population does not subscribe to a faith, Grelle said.

"Americans tend to be pretty religious illiterate. They are not well-informed about their own religions, let alone other people's," he said.

Grelle also noted a movement for secular groups to rebrand as "the Brights," to change a negative connotation associated with their absence of faith.

"One of the things the skeptics and the agnostics and the free-thinkers want to do is put out the idea you don't have to have traditional religious ideas to be a moral person," he said.

"You can be very committed and concerned about your fellow human beings without necessarily believing in God."